The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has EMX Royalty Corp. (EMX) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Basic Materials sector should help us answer this question.

EMX Royalty Corp. is one of 238 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #11 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. EMX Royalty Corp. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EMX's full-year earnings has moved 40% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that EMX has returned about 68.8% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 8.3%. This shows that EMX Royalty Corp. is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Hecla Mining (HL) is another Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 15.9%.

Over the past three months, Hecla Mining's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 29%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, EMX Royalty Corp. belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 64 individual stocks and currently sits at #162 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 11.9% this year, meaning that EMX is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Hecla Mining, however, belongs to the Mining - Silver industry. Currently, this 10-stock industry is ranked #15. The industry has moved +28.7% so far this year.

Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track EMX Royalty Corp. and Hecla Mining. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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EMX Royalty Corp. (EMX):Free Stock Analysis Report

Hecla Mining Company (HL):Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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